


Four Letters

by ashyfur524



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Christ Eleven makes me so fucking happy being this cute, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute Kids, F/M, Fluff, I wrote this instead of homework, I'm so hyped for Friday you don't EVEN KNOW, Mike is in eighth grade, My First Work in This Fandom, Nervous kissing, Other, Pure, SO MUCH FLUFF, Second Kiss, Sharing a Bed, Their Love Is So, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but only by like two years, kids in love, so maybe not really aged up, sweet cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 13:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12483168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashyfur524/pseuds/ashyfur524
Summary: Mike tries to tell Eleven how he really feels, and hopes that this kiss will only take her breath away, instead of taking her away again.Or, the time Mike Wheeler finally felt true happiness.





	Four Letters

Mike Wheeler curled his pale scrawny body around the angel that had fallen into his world two years ago, dug her heels into the dirt, and refused to let even the very demons of hell take her from his side. Eleven tilted her head up, studying the young teen cradling her against him with eyes like deep, fractured opalescent tidepools, and Mike let his dark gaze meet hers for a brief moment. He could have died a happy man knowing that El had looked at him with such interest right then and there. Sadly, he had the rest of middle school (just a few more months!) to slog through, and then high school and college and so on. So, instead of dying on the spot, he decided that a much better pass time would be getting lost in El’s eyes. His lips quirked into a small smile, entranced by the almost doll-like beauty before him. Eleven had given him so much, and Mike wondered if he’d even have the courage to voice any of the feelings she’d given him, not after what had happened the last time. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to hold her close and never let her go. He wanted to keep her here, in his room, or even in his basement, in the fort of blankets he’d made when he first found her on that fateful night searching for Will. Mike wanted to love her and cherish her and make her feel as special as she deserved. He wanted to _love_ her. Eleven noticed Mike’s apparent distraction, her brows knitting in concern as she stared at him with those unyielding dark brown eyes.

“Mike?” Her voice snapped him out of his admirations, and a warm rush came to his cheeks. He knew he was staring, but he couldn’t help it! El was practically a goddess, some sort of otherworldly beauty, and for whatever reason, she chose to stay with him. She chose to trust him. It was quite the honor, Mike thought, to be trusted by such a beautiful creature.

“Yeah, El..?” He replied softly, afraid to speak too loudly. Eleven tilted her head into the pillow, studying his face before murmuring up at him, her voice a haunting whisper that nearly sent chills down Mike’s spine.

“Why were you staring?” Mike dropped his eyes, feeling a bit of shame seep into his bones before he managed a reply.

“I, uh, well, I was just, y’know..” He swallowed nervously as he forced himself to continue. “I was just thinking to myself, thinking about you, actually, and how.. How amazing you are..” Eleven blinked up at him, confusion pooling in her gaze.

“Amazing..?” Eleven repeated softly, studying his face to see if he was lying, just saying things, saying nice things to make her feel better. But Mike wasn’t like other people. He wasn’t a liar. Mike nodded down at her as her eyes lit up, the realization that he was telling her the truth, his truth, and his truth was enough to make her believe him, because his truth was sweet and kind and right.

“Yeah, I mean, you’re.. You’re so special, El, you drive me crazy sometimes-!” Eleven winced at the accusation, and Mike put his hands up in defense. “No, not in like, a bad way, just, like..” Mike inhaled slowly, trying to find better phrasing for his feelings. “I like you a lot.” Eleven nodded up at him.

“Friend..” Mike inhaled sharply, shaking his head firmly.

“I mean, yeah, but no..” Eleven stared at him, confusion once more filling her eyes. “I mean, like.. More than a friend..” Mike sighed as El’s look only grew more vacant. “Like a special friend.” He decided, nodding in approval at his statement as Eleven’s eyes widened.

“Special.. Friend..” She echoed, tilting her head the opposite direction, looking like a kitten nestled in Mike’s bedding.

“Yeah, and, uh.. I just.. I wanted to tell you.. How I.. Have been feeling.. And..” _Come on, Wheeler, don’t fucking blow it-_ Mike bit the bullet, cupping her face in his hands and leaning down just a touch, connecting their lips gently, never once invading her mouth, because if he was going to be completely honest, that was kinda gross.

 

It was as if someone had given Eleven an electrical shock. Her body tensed under the contact, and her eyes widened in some strange emotion. This was foreign, this was new, and from how she had been taught to live, new was, more often than not, something bad. Granted, Mike had given her this kind of connection before, but that was two years ago. She’d been separated from him after he gave her that. Maybe this was why the bad things had to happen between them.. Her mind couldn’t quite process the sensation. Mike drew back, taking one look at Eleven’s reaction and immediately beginning to mentally berate himself for how goddamned _stupid_ that was, _God, Wheeler, could you be anymore of a fucking idiot,_ but the caterwaul in his brain was instantly silenced when El pressed her pale rosey lips to his own chapped, muted cranberry red ones for three glorious seconds that stretched into an eternity of pure bliss.

 

“What was that?” Eleven asked softly, her eyes as wide as moons. Mike wet his lips hesitantly, once again afraid that his voice would fail him.  
  
“That.. Was a kiss..” He replied, his voice barely above a scratchy whisper. El blinked, pursing her lips in apparent annoyance.

“What is kiss..?” She asked again, her voice more stern. She needed an explanation. Mike smiled a bit more at the broken English before his eyes widened a bit and his brows furrowed in confusion. How do you explain a kiss..?

“Well.. A kiss is something that you give to people you like a whole lot.. Like, um, your parents, or maybe your friends sometimes..” He grimaced as the mental image of him doing _that_ to Dustin flashed across his mind’s eye, and he shook his head. “Well, maybe not _all_ your friends, but like, sometimes girls do it..” Eleven nodded slowly before Mike added rather quickly. “But, I mean, kisses are.. Kisses are things that you give to people you care about..” His chocolate brown eyes met with her own dark ones, eyes so brown they were almost black, and the air all but left his lungs.

 

“Kisses are things you give to people you love..” Mike felt the weight of the world lift off his shoulders. He had done it. He had told her how he really felt about her, at least a little bit. Eleven blinked up at him, parting her lips just a bit, as if she was trying to feel the word on her tongue. A mind-numbing silence filled the room, and Mike began to question if ever telling Eleven how he really felt was the right idea, if he had just made the worst mistake of his life, if this silence was going to kill him then and there.

And then the silence was broken by the ghost of four little letters hitting his ears, and Mike swore his heart had stopped.

 

“Love..” El whispered, smiling up at him as she shut her eyes and tucked her head against his chest.

  
Michael Wheeler had never felt happiness like this before in his life.    


End file.
